Varsity Acapella: a fabulous first for SU

The first national Varsity Aca- pella Competition proved tobe a wonderful evening filledwith many renditions of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’.

Only three universities were competing this year – Stellenbosch University, University of the North West, and the University of the Free State. Still, every group brought something wonderful to the evening.

For Tygerberg’s Synergy, in their New York street-wise style, it was their tremendous energy and velvety solo voices:

“We are definitely really happyabout the performance. When westarted off, we didn’t know where ourjourney was going,” said their leader, Siyanda Mbambo.

For the glittering gold tribe Kagiso, it was their outstanding control of volume and their dynamic stage presence.

As the results have clearly shown, the aproned ladies of Huis ten Bosch brought great choreography and soloists like songbirds, the entire group staying impressively in tune despite the ambitious harmonies they performed. For this they received an enthused standing ovation.

“It was an unbelievable experience- I’d definitely do it again if timeallowed it.” said Bjorn Lawson of Huis ten Bosch, who went on to win Best Female Soloist later that night

The girls in baggy flower pants did not follow a theme as such for Irene and Minjonet struggled with staying on pitch, but both performances were still enjoyable.

The bellboys of Laureus had the entire audience jumping to their feet for their show-stopping performance.

“I think, regardless of the outcome, I’m crying,” said Kyle Snyman, from Laureus.

What set the striped-shirt boys of Simonsberg apart was their outstanding musicality, maintaining excellent pitch and balance, and their well-deserved award for Best Male Soloist.

During the wait for the judges to make their decision, singers from alldifferent groups spontaneously beganto sing and dance together, stopping only when the results were announced, and resuming promptly afterwards.

The new Chairperson of the SRC, Carli van Wyk, was very positive about the event:

“I think it was an amazing platform created by KUKO, where the talents of this university and the talents of South Africa have been brought to the table, and we’re here to celebrate it.”

As the first Varsity AcapellaCompetition since the ATKV National Competition collapsed in 2016, this has been a major feat for SU’s Kultuur Kommitee. Chairman of Kuko, Blaine Josephs was also optimistic about the evening as a whole:

“I am basically coming off thishuge adrenaline rush. It happened – that’s all that matters to me, and it’s satisfying knowing that as KUKO for2018 we were able to pull this off sowell. See you next year – we’re going to come back bigger than ever.”

Photo: Supplied

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Song Review: High

Former Matie, Matt Carstens, has steadily built up a committed following in Stellenbosch and Cape Town. As of yesterday he officially dropped a brand-new banging single. “High” is the first single to be released this year by singer songwriter Matt Carstens.

Having been a live feature on his setlist for several months, fans will be happy to hear that Carstens has adapted his live, loop-pedal hit into a brilliant studio hit. Showcasing Carstens’ lyrical prowess through his distinguished voice, “High” takes the listener through a dynamic 3 minutes. Opening with Carstens’ verses sung over old-school beats and a groovy new-school guitar riff, the listener is captivated and, like clockwork, your foot starts tapping to the beat.

The listener is then taken into a smooth melodic chorus that is stacked with sweet harmonies. Carstens reverts back to the skillfully phrased verse before dropping another catchy chorus. He then gradually ups the beat of the song until dropping a minimalist version of the chorus, keeping the listener intrigued, until going balls to the wall with a beautiful vocal solo over the climax of the song.

The song should become a welcome feature on your playlists and has an adaptability to any situation; whether it’s jamming out alone in traffic, upstairs on the Mystics’ dancefloor or even brushing your teeth, “High” will be a worthy track for the occasion. Be sure to check out Matt Carstens on social media for his next Stellenbosch gig. His performances have a reputation of good company, great tunes, and drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Lit Matie

The tide ebbs and reveals the evening,
glistening on the cooling sand,
the sun like a large egg yolk cracked on the horizon.
The sea fog crawls onto the beach
and brings with it memories,
so many beautiful memories that,
like fish from a milky, slumbering depth, come up for a gulp,
a bite of fresh air.
We speak
and sit in silence
and speak
and sit in silence.
Your smile is a breath in the dark
as the sun is snuffed out.

-Maria Stallmann

LitMatie is a platform that is new to Die Matiewhere we publish poems that are written bystudents. If you are a keen poet, feel free to sendyour poems through to us.